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SUNDAY
The second day broke from past lineups by venturing into dance, rap and R&B. Louisiana
dance pop band Royal
Teeth commenced the festivities on Sunday, with plenty of energy and percussion to get
people moving and reward
them for arriving early. Boston boys Bearstronaut strike an upbeat balance between
analog and digital
elements, with '80s rhythms and lounge-singer crooning from David Martineau. Big Black
Delta had an
unusual onstage visual: crooning lead singer Jonathan Bates backed by his laptop and two
drummers, busting out a
tricked-out cover of “Bittersweet Symphony.”
Solange came off as a stylistic anomaly in the bill – taking the stage flaunting an
Afro and in full retro-soul
mode, an old-school song-and-dance artist backed by an old-fashioned band in the middle of
a bill dominated by
digital gear. Her tight band owned grooves straight from the '70s and '80s, and Solange
proved to be a charismatic
performer in her own right, demonstrating a dynamic vocal ability and some impressive
dance moves and stage
presence. She truly held her own amongst the day’s dance and hip-hop giants, proving to
have a sizable following
once they sang along to the '80s Madonna jam “Losing You.” Considering whose genetic
shadow she lives in, the
adoration and respect she’s earned from fans and critics becomes all the more impressive.
Rave mode kicked into full gear as DJs took to the stage. DJ sets from Flume and
Flosstradamus
brought the dubstep with plenty of atonal but rhythmically thumping samples and
scratching. DJ Wolfgang
Gartner came armed with bone-rattling bass and stinging treble in his loops. Samples
ran the gamut from
strings and a choir, tribal percussion and the familiar sound of a dial-up modem, by now
such an EDM cliché that
Gartner’s use of it to introduce his set comes off as self-aware and tongue-in-cheek.
The day’s DJs and bands all worked the crowds quite impressively, but as the day
progressed and heavier hitters took
the stage, the showmanship and command of the crowd increased. Reggae jocks Major
Lazer took theatrics
to a new level with twerking dancers, a plastic ball on loan from the Flaming Lips, a
costumed mascot and a gun full
of confetti. But the music itself beckons the crowd to dance, jump, and mosh, adding
dancehall embellishments to
club standards like “Jump Around,” “Drop It Like It’s Hot” and “Harlem Shake.” The team
equally engaged the
audience with chill-out anthem “Get Free,” sung by Amber Coffman of Dirty Projectors.
As red-hot rapper Kendrick Lamar took the stage, each member of the crowd became a
hype-man for
songs like “Fuckin’ Problems” and “Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe.” Finally, hometown heroes
Passion Pit capped the festival
with their signature blend of upbeat, synth-laden melodies, played with the intensity of
punk, and carried by the
unique falsetto voice of Michael Angelakos. The crowd sang along to the hooks of “The
Reeling,”
“Carried Away” and other dance-pop gems, a triumphant ending to another star-studded
Boston Calling.
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